Gillibrand unveils plan to help women in workplace

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled a five-point plan Friday, including raising the minimum wage and equal pay for equal work, designed to ensure that middle-class women can reach financial security in the workplace.

Gillibrand, D-NY, in a policy speech in Washington, D.C., coordinated by the Center for American Progress, called for the hourly minimum wage to be raised to $10.10 over three years.

She pointed to statistics showing women getting 77 cents for every $1 paid to men in the workplace.

The package also includes paid family and medical leave, affordable and quality child care, and expanded universal pre-kindergarten instruction.

“The face of the American workforce has changed significantly with the dramatic increased participation of women,” Gillibrand said.

“The key to a growing economy—the key to a thriving American middle class in the 21st century—is women. We have to equip more working women with the tools and the opportunities needed to achieve their best in the economy, and their best for their family.”